Not alot of people are slender, duh.
So what hope is there for fat people in cosplay?
They're arent a whole lot of anime characters that are fat.
They're may be some, like Chouji from Naruto, but others arent even respectable.
So, what do you suggest for the big guys/girls?
If your overweight and would like to talk about your cosplay experiences, give a shout out here. Im all ears.

p.s. This is personal for me too. Help me find someone to cosplay.
I've narrowed down my choices to Chouji from Naruto(I need to buy a wig cause I shaved my head) or Rare Hunter Lumis from Yu-Gi-Oh!(Im not short but I am bald.)
Attached are some pictures of me. Resemble or remind you of any characters?
Let me know. Reply or P.M.
PEACE OUT!!

p.p.s. I appreciate the kind people who will say "It doesnt matter about your weight class, cosplay anyone!" But seriously, Im not gonna bother considering that cause thats just wrong. Look at my picture and tell me in the face I could cosplay..ex. Edward Elric from FMA. Yeah..thanks for the gesture anyways!

You my friend are definetly a case of being your own worst critic! Honestly it sounds like you have a bigger issue with not playing someone of your weight then other CosPlayers would!

However if thats your thing and you only have fun playing larger gents, consider some of the old school fighting games like SF:II, Fatal Fury I,II, etc... almost all of them had larger characters {although 90% of the time they were either wrestlers, or sumo wrestlers though, so that route is sort of boxed in}

Also consider non-anime sources. Anime/Japan aren't the only places to get ideas to wear at CosPlay, and western scifi/fantasy is full of far more characters of wide girth {who aren't sidekicks/joke fodder}.

Also you look black in your photos... if so that opens up all kind of possabilites... their aren't alot of black cosplayers compared to white and asian so enjoy the magnititude of black fictional characters secure that regardless of comparative weight you can look them better then 99.9% of the normal cosplayers. Barret from FF7 for example... actually give you the whole facial hair... hmm... theirs another one for you there, although good luck with the gun arm.

EDIT: BTW, I also tend to agree with what most people have already said. Cosplay whoever you want to as long as you can adapt the outfit to be flattering on you. Even if I wanted to cosplay Felicia (infamously nearly-nekkid Darkstalkers catgirl), there's no way I could really adapt something like that to look good on me.
Try not to be so defeatist and down on yourself.

I don't think that overweight cosplayers should limit themselves to just characters who are big. An overweight cosplayer can cosplay almost anyone. The catch is to make the costume to fit you. I mean If you are doing a small character and you aren't so small, then remember that you are making the costuem for yuor size not theirs, so alter it to fit you more appropriately. Size shouldn't matter and won't if you take the right steps.

But I agree. I'm not by anyone's definition, "slender," and I cosplay whoever the heck I please. (currently working on Rosette from Chrno Crusade). As long as you become the character when you cosplay (adopt an attitude during pictures, know your poses), you can be whoever you want to be.

I think it's sad that you're limiting yourself like this. The other thing is, the fact that you didn't give a photo of your whole body makes it difficult to cast you. It sounds like you have body issues more than just being overweight. I can understand this, but I think you are wrong about what one should cosplay. Like stated before, it's like telling someone who is black they shouldn't cosplay anybody white or asian and give them about three or four possible characters they can cosplay. People have no control over their race. People do have control over their bodies, but some people have trouble keeping it. It's not like being overweight is intentional. It's a different story, and not quite as harsh as saying that to a black cosplayer, but it is similar. There are a lot of other options you have besides just cosplaying fat guys from anime.

I'm also with Mistress_aine: if you do decide to cosplay someone who has a smaller frame than yourself (and let's face it, lots of us are in that situation) altering the design a bit can make it really flattering for you. I get pretty self-concious sometimes too, but if you can work your way around it you'll be fine.

If you are really set on your mission to find a larger character though, I immediately thought of Barrett from FF7 when I saw your pic. I hope your search goes well, no matter what you decide to do. And like I said before, a lot of us deal with weight issues in the world of anime/video game figures, so I think a tolerance of larger cosplayers is pretty good around this community. Good luck!

__________________I was deciding which costumes I wanted to make next...and then my head exploded. Cosplay = living on the edge

But I agree. I'm not by anyone's definition, "slender," and I cosplay whoever the heck I please. (currently working on Rosette from Chrno Crusade). As long as you become the character when you cosplay (adopt an attitude during pictures, know your poses), you can be whoever you want to be.

I'm going to play devils advocate for Dojo here and point something out...

Just as it is okay for a big person to CosPlay a skinnier character... it is ALSO just as okay for a big person to NOT WANT to CosPlay a skinnier character.

Generally when someone posts something like
'I'm fat so I shouldn't cosplay skinny character because OTHER PEOPLE have a problem with it',
my wisdom is
'screw them, cosplay what you want, don't let others dictate your life'.

BUT

Dojo isn't saying other people have a problem with it.

He is saying HE dislikes the idea of cosplaying someone not of his bodytype.

If he doesn't want to, he shouldn't do so just to 'prove a point' that fat people can cosplay skinny characters. He should cosplay what he wants to and what he feels comfortable with... if thats characters more like him, more power to him!

Also I think saying he has "a lot of body issues that extend further than being overweight" because of two photos might be taking it a little far, thats alot of judgement over very little evidence unless he posted something somewhere else I'm missing. Nothing at all is wrong with wanting to CosPlay someone more like you, especially if you lean towards being a perfectionist in your outfits.

The point is it's okay, either way, in Cosplay.
(whoot! rhymed it!)
Nothing at all wrong with wanting to be someone more like yourself.
Just because your big and don't want to cosplay skinny doesn't mean you have weight issues.
Just because your a man and won't cosplay as a women doesn't mean you have sexuality issues {or vice versa}.
Just because you cosplay caucasions, or asians, etc, doesn't mean you have races issues.

Best reason to cosplay... you like the character, and are comfortable with it. If he's comfortable as a big man with being the big men, good for him!

Man, do I know how you feel. I'm a chubby girl! Do you know how many chubby girls are in anime? I can think of maybe two.

Anyways, why limit yourself to people who're chubby? I think you'd look awesome as Jet from Beebop (with a fake beard and some hair, or course, but thats whats wigs are for), and I'm certain there are some great characters you'd feel comfortable playing in the Gundam genre *remembers the first original Gundum series* certainly. Just look through them. Maybe Gundum 008? I'm not quite sure if thats the one I'm thinking about though...

Or, what more! Start looking through webcomics. Might sound silly, but a lot of webcomics portray more "real" type characters than the mainstream manga (and then again, a lot of very unreal. Its all a matter of preference). Or you could play Al from FMA. The suit might be hard to make, but it would be awesome.

Seriously, you're choices are only as limited as your knowledge of anime, so get looking for some new stories. You might find something that becomes your new favorite while finding a great costume you feel comfortable in.

I am overweight and I just don't care LOL I personally wouldn't cosplay someone that is a small, petite guy (Hitsugaya from Bleach comes to mind LOL) but my first ever cosplay is going to be Zaraki Kenpachi who actually has a six-pack and is quite a buff guy LOL But I just don't care because he's a cool guy *shrugs*

I think that cosplayers and the people who attend animé conventions seem to be less judgemental than society as a whole. *shrugs*

I'm also with Mistress_aine: if you do decide to cosplay someone who has a smaller frame than yourself (and let's face it, lots of us are in that situation) altering the design a bit can make it really flattering for you. I get pretty self-concious sometimes too, but if you can work your way around it you'll be fine.

If you are really set on your mission to find a larger character though, I immediately thought of Barrett from FF7 when I saw your pic. I hope your search goes well, no matter what you decide to do. And like I said before, a lot of us deal with weight issues in the world of anime/video game figures, so I think a tolerance of larger cosplayers is pretty good around this community. Good luck!

My thoughts exactly!, Im not the skinniest person in the world and im trying to get in shape but that wont stop me from cosplaying who i want to cosplay as, though I would NEVER cosplay anything that i find shows a lotta skin like Rikku from Final Fantasy x-2. I wouldnt do that til im more toned up.